Katie is a White, 28-year-old mother of three biracial children (Eva, age 2, Christopher, age 4 and Leon, age 10). Leon’s father is an African American man from a high-school relationship. He has never been a part of Leon’s life. Eva and Christopher have the same father, a Korean man who disappeared shortly after Christopher was born. Katie was never married to either of these men. Katie has been unable to work due to what she describes as an autoimmune disorder. She is currently on disability. Her mother helps subsidize her income. Katie reports being under the care of a physician but is on no medication.
Katie admits to ‘medicinal’ use of marijuana several times a day to deal with her pain. She also admits to smoking crystal meth (methamphetamine) several times a week to give her the energy to function. During the past three years, Katie has also been taking OxyContin on a near daily basis. She is vague as to where she is getting the OxyContin. Her children were removed from the home after an investigation by Child Protective Services stemming from Leon’s disclosure to his teacher. Her children are currently in the custody of her older sister, but Katie’s goal is to regain custody of her children once she is clean and sober.
Katie has a 14-year history of substance use which began on her 13th birthday (when she started stealing Vicodin from her parent’s medicine cabinet and began smoking marijuana). Following the parents’ separation and subsequent divorce, Katie’s father did not have much contact with her and eventually any visitation stopped altogether when her father moved to Arizona to take a new job. At that point, she would only hear from her father by phone, on her birthday and holidays. He has not been involved in the lives of his grandchildren. She describes her mother as a “flaming co-dependent,” but that she is a good grandmother and supports Katie’s goal of family reunification.
Discuss the following using the case study above and be specific:
1. Assessment and Diagnosis
2. Legal and Ethical Issues
3. Cultural Issues
4. Treatment Planning
5. Collaboration, Referrals and Community Resources
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